Thoughts on Top Secret! by Andy

"Wow. They'd have enough salt to last forever!"

and

"You must go now quickly. If they find out that you've seen this your life will be worth less than a truck-load of dead rats at a tampon factory."

These, and many other great quotes are yours for small price of enduring a ridiculous spoof film. Here are a few of the notably entertaining parts for me:

East Germany.
A stamp that prints: "Find him and kill him."
Skeet-surfing.

The catholic priest listing off gibberish (including pig-latin, and other ridiculous lawyerly latin phrases) prior to his own execution.

Making out in the park to avoid suspicion by the police.

People peeing on the statue of a pigeon.

An entire scene shot in reverse.

Nigel, "the torch."

Du Quois, Chevalier, Montage, De taunt, Avant gard, Deja Vu, Croissant, Souffle, Escargot, Chocolate Mousse, Latrine - french "resistance fighters" in East Germany.

Der Pizza Haus.

An homage to The Count of Monte Cristo.

"Let me know if his condition changes. He's dead."

"How do we know that he's not Mel Tormei?"

Cow in army boots.

"I was exposed to the world's great thinkers: Karl Marx, Lennin, Elron Hubbard, Freddie Laker."

Exploding Ford Pinto.

"The Great Escape" homage.

Underwater bar-brawl scene.

"....as long as an actor can be elected president, we must continue the struggle."

So what makes a spoof movie great? It's the etherial "funny" answer. If it makes us laugh, it's a good spoof. I'm not sure why some things are funny and some are not, and I'm guessing producers of such movies struggle with that question throughout.

There's not much more to say about "Top Secret." I enjoyed it, and I wouldn't say it was the funniest film I've ever seen, but maybe one of the best spoofs ever made. Frankly, the best parts for me were some of the obscure '80s references.

By the way, here are some spoof movies that I think are funny:

"Robin Hood: Men in Tights"
"Spaceballs"
"Blazing Saddles"
"Young Frankenstein"
"This is Spinal Tap"
"Airplane"
"The Naked Gun"

and my personal favorite:
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail"